Managing the Troubled Employee

The Faculty and Employee Assistance
Program is an excellent resource for all supervisors or managers when
they encounter an employee who has performance problems. Your
responsibility, as supervisor, is to develop employees and monitor
their performance. This places you in a pivotal position to
observe changes in behavior and the emergence of personal, family, or
drug and alcohol problems.

Encouraging troubled employees to take
the first steps in using available resources, such as FEAP, to address
these problems may not only help in resolving the performance issues,
but may be the most important role you will play with this
employee.

How
to Recognize and Address Performance Problems

One of the most difficult aspects of supervising people is
recognizing and managing the troubled employee. In working with people,
it is important to be aware of certain indicators that may suggest that
an employee is experiencing difficulty in performing the job. Often the
employee will start to exhibit a pattern of performance problems over
time.

A common error is to assume that an employee's problem is not
serious because performance is not significantly impaired. A change in
job performance is often the last symptom exhibited when an employee
has a personal problem.

Your goal as manager is to confront
undesirable job behaviors, not attempt to determine why or to
diagnose. To confront in this sense means to help the
employee come face to face with his/her behaviors. Many
supervisors put off confronting an employee, but they should attempt to
correct the problem when it is first recognized. The sooner a
problem is acknowledged, the sooner performance can improve.
Feeling inadequate is okay. At times it is very
uncomfortable discussing problem performance with
employees. There are resources to help, however.

What is important is that you do not let
your discomfort stop you from doing your job. Now is a good time
to "take your pulse" and see how you are feeling. Feelings of
frustration are best resolved before meeting with the
employee.

The checklist Assess Your
Confrontation Style can help you identify your strengths and
weaknesses in this area. These statements summarize characteristics of
an effective management style. Here are two additional tools that will
help in preparations for constructively addressing performance
problems with employees:

Encourage employees to discuss/respond to concerns; Full discussion
is critical

Listen!

Agree upon action plan with time frames

Discuss consequences of failure to improve

When addressing an employee who is exhibiting performance problems,
it is very important to have documentation of the specific performance
issues, as well as the steps you, as supervisor, have taken to address
these issues with the employee.

How
To Document Employee Performance

There are two types of documenting that
managers and supervisors employ:

Informal documentation
is for the manager's or supervisor's own records. It documents
performance or behavior problems amongst their employees, enabling them
to look for patterns and monitor and assess changes over time. This
type of documentation allows the manager/supervisor to be proactive in
preventing problems from becoming more severe.

Formal documentation is
that required by Human Resources to establish a record for taking
possible disciplinary or administrative action with regard to an
employee performance problem. This type of documentation carries
detailed and specific requirements, usually spelled out by employment
policy. While FEAP can provide guidance, it is necessary to contact
your Employee Relations or Human Resources department to learn the
specifics and to acquire knowledge about the impact of such
action.

Follow Up the Corrective
Interview

Monitor employee’s performance with respect to problem(s) discussed
and documented in the corrective interview, giving a reasonable time
for improvement. Employees may at times require reminders about
performance expectations or appropriate behavior. Once reminded,
improvement should result. Employees should be given periodic feedback
about their progress.

If the problem does not improve or gets worse, there may be a
personal problem that is contributing to poor performance.
The Faculty and Employee Assistance Program (FEAP) or your Human
Resources department can help.

At times, an employee who is experiencing performance problems may
have personal problems that are interfering with his/her ability to
function effectively on the job. If you suspect that there may be
personal issues contributing to the job performance, refer the
employee to FEAP.

How ToRefer an Employee
to FEAP

Employees can access the Faculty and
Employee Assistance Program in a variety of ways. They may
self-refer at any time. Co-workers, family, or friends
can encourage the use of FEAP. Supervisors can refer
formally or informally as noted below.

Formal vs. Informal FEAP
Referral

The informal referral is made when you become aware
that the employee has a personal problem but the problem is not
affecting performance. A manager may remind the employee about the FEAP
and encourage them to take advantage of the program. Realize that the
employee may not choose to use FEAP.

A formal referral to FEAP is made when there
are performance problems. The manager would first contact the
FEAP to discuss the employee and performance problems and explore
whether a formal referral is appropriate. During a corrective
interview, the manager will tell the employee of the formal referral to
the FEAP and encourage them to use the program. The advantage of the
formal referral is that the FEAP counselor will let you know whether or
not the employee follows through (with the proper release of
information).

FEAP can be reached by dialing (434) 243-2643.

How
To Intervene With an Employee Who May be Impaired

Alcohol/Drug problems are
difficult to address as managers grapple with conflicting
concerns:

Fear of being wrong, false
accusations

Fear of negligence charge; possible
accident or harm if problem not recognized and acted upon

Avoidance due to close personal
relationships

Steps to take to address possible
impairment:

Never attempt to diagnose the
problem. Stick with objective, observable behavior. Many
things could cause a person to appear impaired such as physical
problems, medical, psychiatric illness, or substance abuse; don't jump
to conclusions.

Always take action if you are concerned
about impairment; never allow someone who appears to be impaired to
perform a safety sensitive job or drive home.

Meet with employee privately.
Relate the observations you have noted. These should be both
behavioral and performance related. Ask for reasonable
explanation of behavior (i.e. slurred speech could be caused by dental
work)

Maintain strict confidentiality; need to
know basis only.

Refer impaired employee to FEAP as
appropriate per policy or procedure.